Challenges the client faced

Design implications on budget

Chris Oakley from Oakley Architecture designed the original roof cover for the St Mark’s tennis court / basketball courts. He went out to tender with the initial design to have the structure costed. This design consisted of structural beams. The prices that came back were way out of the budget that St Mark’s had available.

Recommendation

Chris came to us to see if we had a more cost-effective way to design and construct the 40 metre x 40 metre roof structure. Due to the large span, we did the pricing as a structural design which was a bit cheaper than the others. Having the ability to design large span C-section structures, we designed the roof cover as a C-section with a row of mid columns that created two courts. The cost savings were massive for the school, which allowed them to spend the rest of the budget on the landscaping and surfaces for the courts.

Alex Chirico, the facilities manager, also required that we complete the full project during the school holidays, so there were no students at school, ensuring there were no safety issues. He was delighted with the end result of the roof structure and the completion well before school started.